On June 20, Doctor Pham Thanh Viet - Deputy Director of Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City confirmed that the cyclotron located at this hospital has stopped operating since January 6. This is the only radioactive homologue producer in the South that serves PET/CT scanning techniques - a modern diagnostic imaging method, mainly used in the detection and treatment of cancer, cardiovascular and neurological diseases.
The cyclotron at Cho Ray Hospital has been in operation for the past 17 years. According to Dr. Viet, due to old facilities and frequent problems, the hospital was forced to stop operating to replace it with a new, more modern furnace. The interruption period is expected to last about 6 months.
As a result, hospitals that used to depend on this radioactive synthesis source, including Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, Military Hospital 175 and Kien Giang Oncology Hospital, had to temporarily suspend the operation of PET/CT machines.
Dr. Diep Bao Tuan - Director of Oncology Hospital said: "Currently, both facilities of the hospital cannot perform PET/CT scans. Previously, more than 10 patients were scheduled to take this type of scan every day, now they have to postpone or replace it with other methods such as CT, MRI or X-ray".
However, not all cases can be replaced. There are cancer patients who need to accurately determine the stage to receive treatment in time, now they are forced to move to Da Nang or Hanoi - where there are still cyclotron furnaces operating for PET/CT scans.
Oncology Hospital is currently submitting a public investment report to request the construction of a separate cyclotron. Meanwhile, Cho Ray Hospital is also promoting the replacement of new equipment, expected to be completed in the next half year.
The complete dependence on a single cyclotron for the entire southern region, which is densely populated, and the high demand for medical examination and treatment, poses a big problem for investment in high-tech medical equipment. PET/CT is no longer a rare technique in modern medicine, but the lack of on-site radioactive synchronization has seriously disrupted the application.
It is worth mentioning that because the ton tai of this village only lasts a few hours, it cannot be transported from a place as far away as Hanoi, and must be produced on site. The model of socialization or public-private partnership in the construction of cyclotron centers is still rarely implemented, due to legal, investment and professional barriers.
Meanwhile, actual demand shows that large hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and even the Central and Central Highlands provinces need to access PET/CT scanning techniques. Without a specific mechanism and synchronous investment, cancer patients will continue to suffer disadvantages when traveling far, costly, and even delay diagnosis and treatment.
It is time for the health sector to have a long-term strategy for developing nuclear medicine infrastructure not only in large centers but also at the regional level, to ensure fairness in accessing high-tech services for people.
